I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Chapter 173 News of the Auction (4K)

In the present world, in Baijiang City.

Shi An drew back the curtains of the rented room, letting sunlight stream in, while outside the window, traffic flowed bustling.

It's hard to imagine that just over ten days ago, the entire city of Baijiang was in danger of collapse. At that time, the streets were deserted and everyone was in fear.

Now, thanks to the restart of the Book of Harmony and the collaborative efforts of countless action team members and staff, Baijiang City has returned to normal. The calamity caused by the false humans, which nearly destroyed the entire city, seems like a dream.

"But there will still be some differences."

From that day on, nightmares and those who suffer from nightmares were no longer a secret within the nightmare community.

Some individuals who are neither dreamers nor officials but possess a certain amount of social power are unwilling to seal their memories; they have simply signed strict confidentiality agreements.

Shi An knows a lot of official data.

About a week after the False Man Disaster ended, the city returned to normal—but it wasn't just that the city regained its stability and the nightmare information was blocked; minor disasters like the Nightmare Invasion also reappeared.

As more people became aware of nightmares, the nightmare invasions that plagued Baijiang City became more frequent.

However, Baijiang City now has many powerful individuals, and the Countermeasures Bureau's action teams have expanded to twenty.

The impact of the invasion disaster was actually less than it had been a few months ago.

This is also why the Baijiang Countermeasures Bureau dared to publicly disclose the "nightmare" on a small scale.

"Baijiang City is preparing to screen and cultivate promising Dream Fallers once again. Unlike the previous hasty selection due to pressure, this time the Baijiang Countermeasures Bureau has more options."

"Furthermore, the Countermeasures Bureau, the Wizard's House, the Ultimate Martial Arts School, and the Shirae Research Institute—the cooperation between these organizations has become even closer."

This is certainly related to his safe zone.

People like Xuanjian, Xixue, and Chen Baichuan, who were originally just talented juniors in their organizations, are now high-ranking members of various organizations.

In a while, they may become the leaders of various organizations.

Shi An pondered, "Previously, there were several thousand to tens of thousands of Dream Fallers in Baijiang City; in the future, the number might remain at twenty to thirty thousand, or even thirty to forty thousand. And—"

He heard that a nightmare town had tens of thousands of people, and that all of them were dream sufferers.

At first glance, the Dreamers appear to be larger than even a city in the real world.

"But we can't just look at the numbers."

"Of the tens of thousands of people trapped in nightmares in Nightmare Town, more than 90% may never have the opportunity or ability to leave the town in their lifetime."

"On the other hand, in Baijiang City—although the number of Dream Fallers had remained in the range of a few thousand, many of them perished in their nightmares, while many new Dream Fallers rose up. Through the process of natural selection, those who remain are mostly people with potential."

In the current stage of God's Dream Town, the large number of Dream Fallers makes it easier for strong individuals to emerge.

Modern cities possess greater potential and a brighter future.

Therefore, Shi An chose to have both.

He wants the dreamers of the current nightmare forces, as well as the potential of the present and future.

"There don't seem to be many Lost Ones from the Nightmare Force within my safe zone?"

"No problem—we can spread the word that the safe zone is preparing to hold a second large-scale auction."

At the last auction, Shi An auctioned off a number of rare cursed items, giving its members a chance to develop quickly.

And this time—

Tier 1 rare cursed items are no longer rare.

"But there are also second-tier rare cursed artifacts. These are cursed artifacts that can only be extracted by extraordinary and bizarre beings, and they are rare even for extraordinary powerhouses."

"In addition, various basic supplies, props, potions, and equipment—some of which are useless to the extraordinary, but would definitely be coveted by the leaders of a faction."

Shi An opened the panel and navigated to the drawing section.

These days, his own members are still conquering the nightmare, and he has obtained countless spoils of war.

The architectural blueprints are not of a high standard, and the strange employees no longer have contract slots.

However, the workshop did not limit the number of blueprints it could produce.

"Multifunctional Paper Doll (Standard)"

"Description: A paper doll that combines multiple functions such as combat, exploration, and transportation."

This paper figure is suitable for use in areas where the situation is unclear.

If you encounter danger, you can use paper figures to temporarily distract the strange creatures.

Even for the strong, paper figures can play a certain role.

1

"Exorcising Spray"

"Note: A spray that can be applied to the body to reduce the attention of supernatural beings—but cannot be used to shake off supernatural beings that have already set their sights on you."

"This spray is suitable for Dreamers who are going on long trips, to use during rest—but then again, it seems like the members in my safe zone don't have this need?"

"Curse Power Detector (Rare)"

This is the first rare item in the safe zone that can be mass-produced.

Its function is to detect the magical force reaction in the area ahead, and it can also be used as an early warning radar.

"Although intelligent monsters know how to restrain their power, when they make a move or travel quickly, their magical power will inevitably leak out, and they will be detected by the detectors."

Even extraordinary beings would covet this thing.

The reason why extraordinary experts dare not casually attack nightmares is precisely because they are worried that their actions will attract the attention of other extraordinary and strange beings.

The curse detector is of great value in both exploration and defense.

"This will be a new generation of exploration artifact."

In terms of medicines, there are now several more safe zones for regular-grade medicines.

Trauma medication, fever reducer, breath-holding medication, and so on.

But the most valuable item remains the same—"Hematopoietic Regeneration Potion (Rare)".

This medicine can cure hidden internal injuries and also transform the body, greatly enhancing physical strength.

Shi An had used this medicine not long ago.

"When used by extraordinary experts, it can significantly enhance their physique. The downside is that it can only be used once per person, and there is a slight pain during the hour after drinking the potion when the blood is replenished."

But the improvement is significant and there are no side effects, so it's worth it.

Although a strong physique is still not enough to withstand strange attacks, a strong body allows one to run fast, and some powerful spells also require a strong body to support them.

"For those in the Third Refinement Realm who have obvious hidden injuries and therefore cannot reach the benchmark for extraordinary advancement, this is an even more miraculous medicine to reopen their path forward."

These are the key items that Shi An is preparing to release for the auction.

He had already sent people to spread the news, and for the next period of time, he, the store manager, actually had nothing to do.

He never tries to conquer nightmares; he spends his free time cultivating in safe zones.

However, there is a limit to the amount of time an extraordinary expert can spend cultivating and the amount of dream crystals they can absorb in a day.

Shi An cultivates diligently, but at his current pace, reaching the mid-stage of the extraordinary realm is still a long way off.

During the day —

Shi An glanced at the time. "Looks like it's time to go to work. I'm just idling around anyway, so I might as well train some new people."

With that in mind, Shi An rode the official vehicle provided to him by the bureau and headed towards the headquarters.

That's right, his work location has changed; it's no longer at the Anping branch, but at headquarters.

This is naturally a promotion.

He is now the team leader in charge of new employee training at the New Employee Orientation Department.

The benefits are quite high; not only has the salary doubled, but there are also resource allocations for cultivation.

In addition, the bureau also provides vehicles and housing—but Shi An declined the employee housing offer.

"This position is considered mid-level in the Countermeasures Bureau, one or two levels higher than Lao Song, the peripheral team leader. But Lao Song has also been promoted."

Not only did he get promoted, but Lao Song also finally became a Dream Faller, just as he had always wanted.

Perhaps it was because he confronted the eerie, and since Lao Song also possessed a cursed object at the time, he was able to "conquer the nightmare".

Before long, Shi An arrived at the headquarters building of the Countermeasures Bureau.

His workload has actually decreased since his promotion, except for today when he will be busier.

A dozen minutes later, inside the building, in a large classroom converted from a large conference room, assistant Zhang Yuning walked in carrying a stack of lesson plans.

"Team leader, it seems most of the trainees have arrived. Aren't you nervous, team leader?"

This was Shi An's first time teaching a class.

Zhang Yuning was also a first-time assistant, but she noticed that Shi An didn't seem nervous at all—was this the team leader's mental fortitude? No wonder he was able to become a Refining Expert in such a short time.

Shi An just felt a little sad.

Three months ago, he was a student, and it was through Professor Luo's lectures that he gradually opened the door to a new world.

And now, he is the one standing on the stage.

Of course, Shi An is just one of the lecturers, only responsible for this morning's course. Insiders know that these lecturers are far inferior to big names like Professor Luo.

But teaching newbies some basic knowledge is enough.

"Today we're going to talk about the first nightmare."

Shi An looked around.

There were more than two hundred students present—and these were just a small group of students.

Among the newcomers, some have already overcome the initial nightmare and even entered the period of control.

Today, these students are all ordinary people, but in the future, the vast majority of them will fall into a dream.

Shi An selected some key points from the lesson plan to explain.

He thought about it and realized that no matter how much he talked, it wouldn't be as effective as letting the trainees experience it firsthand.

Then, a chilling aura spread from his body, gradually intensifying until the curse pressure was like a storm, covering the entire classroom.

Zhang Yuning, who was standing to the side, was trembling with fear.

"This is how you feel when you confront the bizarre."

Shi An said this.

Many trainees turned pale, and some even fainted.

Shi An immediately called two team members to carry the unconscious person to the infirmary.

After instilling fear in the newbies, he then subtly demonstrated his skills, inspiring them to look forward to the future.

At this point, a student asked, "Teacher, I've heard that there's a place called the Safe Zone in the Nightmare World. Legend has it that if you can reach there, you'll never have to fear the eerie again. Is that true?"

The speaker was a rich young man.

Most people present had never heard of a safe zone, and a few had heard of it but knew little about it.

Shi An said, "That's true and that's not true. The safe zone is extremely safe, but whether one can conquer the nightmare and stay in the safe zone for a long time still depends on the Dreamer's own abilities."

"However, to be fair, the safe zone has indeed provided many opportunities for those who have fallen into the dream, saving countless lives. The shopkeeper who established the safe zone is just as rumored: mysterious, powerful, and imposing."

Shi An was telling the truth; he absolutely did not have any ulterior motives.

After sitting back down in the audience, the rich boy secretly vowed, "I must find the safe zone and become a member."

Beside him, another boy, also only thirteen or fourteen years old, asked, "Is the safe zone really that magical? I've only heard that the nightmare world is extremely dangerous."

The rich boy said, "Yes, the Dream World is very dangerous, but as long as you find a safe zone, you can avoid more than 95% of the dangers. Not only that, the safe zone is also a sacred place for cultivation—have you heard of a little genius who was in the same period as us? He fell into the dream eight days ago and is now a master of the control stage."

"A master of the Control Stage?"

After several days of learning, the students understood what the control and refining stages were like.

Those in the Refining Stage are considered strong.

However, "Judging from this, the Refining Stage doesn't seem too difficult?" The companion looked towards the podium.

This lecturer is said to be a cultivator at the Refinement stage.

The rich young man shook his head: "That's not the case. The gap between the Control Stage and the Refinement Stage is enormous. Besides, that little genius only broke through to the Control Stage so quickly because of the safe zone. Even with the backing of the safe zone, most Dream Fallers are already considered excellent if they can enter the Refinement Stage within two or three months."

"And our teacher, it is said, has only been in the dream state for two months—his time in the control phase is very likely only one month."

"but----"

The wealthy young man said, "You're right about one thing: the safe zone is teeming with powerful individuals; even those at the Refining stage are nothing special. It's said that it's a gathering place for powerful individuals from many different regions and cities!"

Rumors of the safe zone spread rapidly among the trainees.

Most people's understanding of the safe zone is limited to a few words, but there are also students like the rich kid who has connections at home and knows some secrets early on.

They are generous in sharing.

The newbies' worries about nightmares quickly turned into anticipation for safe zones.

"We really need to find a way to get to the safe zone, even if it comes at a high price."

"Boss, why is this?"

"I have an acquaintance in the Countermeasures Bureau. He told me that a large auction is about to be held in the safe zone, featuring many rare items that are not commonly seen, including—a divine medicine that can eradicate hidden injuries and open the path to transcendence!"

Inside Lin Dong City, a powerful expert at the third level of the Refinement Realm made up his mind.

Chongshan City.

There are two factions within the Countermeasures Bureau: one is radical, advocating full integration into the safe zone and the more members the bureau has, the better; the other is conservative, believing that a certain boundary should still be maintained between themselves and the safe zone.

At this moment, they were arguing about the auction.

The radical said, "I want to take one-third of the Dream Crystals in the bureau for auction and subsequent purchases."

The conservatives said, "That's too little. Take more Dream Crystals. Oh, and here's a list of items we'd like to buy; you can have it."

Giant Tree Camp.

Leader Chen Shouyi also heard the news. After all, he was a member of the safe zone and was naturally aware of the auction.

However, it's clear that Red Maple Town doesn't want us to have contact with the safe zone.

Chief Chen frowned.

-

Aren't you going?

This is of course impossible.

"It's time to rediscover my mastery of disguise."

>